Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to change the wording of the Gender Recognition Act 2004; and if so, what changes they intend to make.

The Government held a public consultation on the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 in 2018, to which we responded in 2020. We carefully considered the responses to the consultation and concluded that the balance struck in the legislation is correct. There are proper checks and balances in the system for people who want to change their legal sex and we have no intention of altering the requirements of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

A judicial review in Northern Ireland last year found that the use of the term “disorder” within the definition of gender dysphoria (Section 25(1) of the GRA) was incompatible with the applicant’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights as reflected in the Human Rights Act 1998. The High Court held that the use of the term was outdated and unjustified. The Government will be introducing a Remedial Order to remove the term ‘disorder’ in due course.

More widely, we are progressing in our commitments to make the gender recognition process more straightforward and accessible. That is why we have already reduced the fee to £5 and are digitising the application process to make it more accessible and easier to navigate.